For a long time, there has been a need for a cigarette lighter which small children could not operate. The prior art contains several examples of lighters which may be considered to be safe lighters, with some type of safety mechanism, but these lighters are undesirably complex in structure and function than the lighter of the present invention.
Briefly, the principles of the invention may be conveniently embodied in one of the most popular throwaway lighters, however, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the principles of the invention are widely applicable. Briefly, according to the invention, in lighters which have a spark wheel and a finger-operated lever for positioning a tube leading to the fuel supply in position for ignition, means are provided for either permitting operation of the lever or for preventing operation of the lever, this means being generally not operable by children.